Natural Background Radiation

We are all exposed to ionizing radiation from natural sources at all times. This radiation is called natural background radiation, and its main sources are the following:

• Radioactive substances in the earth's crust

• Emanation of radioactive gas from the earth

• Cosmic rays from outer space which bombard the earth

• Trace amounts of radioactivity in the body

Radioactivity in the Earth

When the earth was formed four billion years ago, it contained many radioactive isotopes.
Since then, all the shorter lived isotopes have decayed. Only those isotopes with
very long half lives (100 million years or more) remain, along with the isotopes formed
from the decay of the long lived isotopes.

These naturally-occurring isotopes include uranium and thorium and their decay products,
such as radon. The presence of these radionuclides in the ground leads to both external
gamma ray exposure and internal exposure from radon and its progeny.

Cosmic Radiation

Cosmic rays are extremely energetic particles, primarily protons, which originate
in the sun, other stars and from violent cataclysms in the far reaches of space. Cosmic
ray particles interact with the upper atmosphere of the earth and produce showers
of lower energy particles. Many of these lower energy particles are absorbed by the
earth's atmosphere. At sea level, cosmic radiation is composed mainly of muons, with
some gamma-rays, neutrons and electrons.

Because the earth's atmosphere acts as a shield, the exposure of an individual to
cosmic rays is greater at higher elevations than at sea level. For example, the annual
dose from cosmic radiation in Denver is 50 millirem while the annual dose at sea level is 26 millirem.

Natural Radioactivity in the Body

Small traces of many naturally occurring radioactive materials are present in the
human body. These come mainly from naturally radioactive isotopes present in the food
we eat and in the air we breathe.

These isotopes include tritium (H-3), carbon-14 (C-14), and potassium-40 (K-40).

Radiation Doses to the U.S. Population

Radiation Source

Average Annual Whole Body Dose (millirem/year)

Natural: Cosmic

29

Terrestrial

29

Radon

200

Internal (K-40, C-14, etc.)

40

Manmade: Diagnostic X-ray

39

Nuclear Medicine

14

Consumer Products

11

All others: Fallout, air travel, occupational, etc.

2

Average annual total

360 millirem/year

Tobacco (if you smoke, add ~280 millirem)

Average Doses from some common activities

Activity

Typical Dose

Smoking

280 millirem/year

Using radioactive materials in a Murray State University lab

<10 millirem/year

Dental x-ray

10 millirem per x-ray

Chest x-ray

8 millirem per x-ray

Drinking water

5 millirem per year

Cross country round tip by air

5 millirem per year

Coal burning power plant

0.165 millirem/year

This is the end of the Natural Background Radiation Module, which is the second of
the Open Source Radiation Basics modules. The next module is the Biological Effects
Module 3.